Carabao Cup: Chelsea v Liverpool – Reds aim to keep alive quadruple hopes, Pochettino eyes first trophy in England

Mauricio Pochettino has asked Chelsea fans not to judge him on “winning titles” as the Blues target their first domestic trophy for six years.

Pochettino, who took charge at Stamford Bridge last summer, can win his first prize in England after previous spells at Southampton and Tottenham.

“For me, that is not the way to judge a coaching staff,” said the Argentine.

“It’s about being competitive and winning, but there are too many factors that influence.

“I think [victory on Sunday] is not going to increase my popularity or the way the fans are going to see us.”

Pochettino used the example of Jurgen Klopp to reinforce his point, saying the Liverpool manager’s reputation was not affected by a near four-year wait for his first trophy at Anfield.

“Klopp was good before he arrived at Liverpool,” he said. “Now he’s won the Champions League and the Premier League.

“The thing is to be in the right moment in the right club that trusts in you, with the tools and the responsibility to win.”

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton, however, has described the Wembley showpiece as Pochettino’s “World Cup final”, telling Football Focus: “Pochettino needs to get a foothold.

“There have been murmurings [after] performances this season, but imagine if they win it.”

Liverpool, meanwhile, head into Sunday’s final aiming to win the first of a potential four trophies this season.

The Reds lead the Premier League by four points and are into the Europa League last 16 and FA Cup fifth round.

The game is a rematch of both the Carabao and FA Cup finals of 2022, both of which Liverpool won on penalties.

“This is my first final with Liverpool so it’s going to be something very special for me and the team,” said Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister.

“[Winning] the World Cup helped me to realise that I really want to win more trophies and so Sunday is a big opportunity. It’s what I wanted when I signed for the club.”

Reds trio face late fitness tests

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed the injury-hit Reds will give Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai as long as possible to recover in time for Sunday’s game after fitness concerns.

But Curtis Jones has joined Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota on the sidelines, so several youngsters and fringe players will feature.

“It’s always good in life to accept what you have and don’t look at what you don’t have,” said Dutch coach Lijnders. “That’s brought us success in the past.

“Johan Cruyff said that ‘every disadvantage has its advantage’, and we get young players playing who haven’t been playing [regularly] – it’s a complement to our squad and our academy.

“For me, success is growing. We focus on developing this team, on bringing young players and making them better – and the older ones. Success is a logical result of that.

“Liverpool is a club made for major trophies. Each year we should fight for them and that’s what we’ll try to do. We’ll go for it.”

Chelsea drew 1-1 at home to Liverpool on the opening day of the season but lost 4-1 at Anfield at the end of last month, when Nunez struck the post from a penalty after Benoit Badiashile was adjudged to have fouled Diogo Jota.

That defeat was followed by a 4-2 home loss to Wolves, but former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas feels the victory at Crystal Palace and last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Etihad Stadium suggest the Blues are on the right track.

“I liked what Chelsea did against Manchester City,” Fabregas said.

“Yes, in the second half they struggled […] but I do see a big, big improvement in the last couple of weeks. The results prove that.”

On Liverpool’s prospects, Fabregas added: “Klopp doesn’t have a lot of plan B but he always plays the same way and he always wins. That tells me how good a coach he is.

“He has his way, he knows exactly what he wants, he knows how to work on it and he’s got the results.”

Third time the charm for Pochettino? The stats

• Liverpool’s win over Chelsea in 2022 meant they regained the record for most EFL Cup wins – nine
• Chelsea are five-time winners, last lifting the trophy by beating Tottenham 2-0 in 2015
• Chelsea’s current boss Mauricio Pochettino was Tottenham manager that day
• Pochettino has only reached one other final while managing in England – the 2019 Champions League final when Spurs lost to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool
• Pochettino has won just one of his 13 meetings with Klopp – a 4-1 home win in October 2017 with Tottenham
• Chelsea and Liverpool have met in two previous EFL Cup finals (2005 and 2022) and two previous FA Cup finals (2012 and 2022)
• Liverpool won both the 2022 finals on penalties after the games finished 0-0 at the end of extra time